GLEN ROCK — They aren’t competing for a brand-new car or all-inclusive trip to Maui. Contestants on TruTV’s new game show "Paid Off" play to pay off their student loans.

Comedian and Glen Rock native Michael Torpey, best known for his roles on "Orange is the New Black" and "Sneaky Pete," hosts the 16-episode game show, which debuted on Tuesday. Three college graduates are given a chance to put the knowledge gained from their degrees to the test with trivia questions and games. One lucky winner will get the chance to have his or her student debt paid off.

“I really wanted an absurd counter to what I view as an absurd crisis,” said co-creator Torpey. “There’s no reason that we should be saddling people with debt who want higher education. I thought it was a good idea to juxtapose the bells and whistles of a game show with the depressing subject that we are trying to explore.”

"Paid Off" is keenly aware of how it turns financial hardship into entertainment. Its premiere episode is titled “You Call This a Game Show?” There’s a segment called “Super Depressing Fact of the Week,” and the episode closes with a call for viewers to urge their congressional representatives to address the crisis.

“Sadly, there isn’t enough going on to protect these people. College is too expensive. Private loans have crazy interest rates, and our government isn’t doing enough to protect students and provide a debt-free path to higher education. The reason it’s a game show is so we can immediately give money to people who need it, and at the same time, it puts a face to the crisis,” Torpey said.

Glen Rock upbringing

Glen Rock native Michael Torpey hosts a new gameshow on truTV where contestants compete to pay off their student loans.(Photo: Courtesy truTV/Jeremy Freeman)

Torpey attended Glen Rock public schools, which he called a great environment for learning and being creative. He said he was fortunate to later become a theater major through the financial support of his parents.

“It was a really well-rounded upbringing, and when I went off to college, I was able to continue that exploration,” Torpey said. “I think it’s because I came from a place of real privilege. My parents wanted me to use college to learn more about myself, and it was an incredible gift.”

His introduction to student loans came when he met his wife, who had around $40,000 in debt. They were able to make a dent in it after he landed a role in an underwear commercial, he said.

New Jersey ranks ninth-highest in the nation for student loan debt, with the average borrower carrying $30,536 in debt, according to LendEDU, a Hoboken-based private Web marketplace for student loans and refinancing. Sixty-three percent of students graduate with debt.

The average student loan debt for the Class of 2017 nationwide was $39,400, up 6 percent from last year, and Americans owe more than $1.48 trillion on student loans, according to Student Loan Hero, a personal finance website.

Glen Rock native Michael Torpey hosts a new gameshow on truTV where contestants compete to pay off their student loans.(Photo: Courtesy truTV/John Nowak)

While other game shows focus on the fierceness of competition or fabulous prizes, "Paid Off" seems to have a different approach: humanizing the crisis. Contestants and even selected audience members say how much their loans are, telling the audience what they would do if they were suddenly debt-free.

“If you are watching at home, it shouldn’t just be fun. It should make you a little uncomfortable. The best course for people right now is a game show, and that’s not right,” Torpey said.

People we may encounter daily — nearly 45 million in the United States — have this “invisible burden that affects every decision they make,” and most deal with it alone because of the stigma associated with debt, he said.

Glen Rock native Michael Torpey hosts a new gameshow on truTV where contestants compete to pay off their student loans.(Photo: Courtesy truTV/Jeremy Freeman)

Viewer opinion of the show seems split. Some believe it exploits graduates’ financial hardship, but others see it as a way to bring attention to a debt-saddled generation.

“I’m really open to this conversation no matter what way we get there,” Torpey said. “People say this show is dystopian. I would say the current state of education in the United States is dystopian. The fact that we are openly allowing 18-year-olds to sign on to loans that will cripple them, that’s dystopian.

#PaidOff how do I get on this show? I'm relatively attractive, funny, vaguely intelligent, and I have 100,000 in loans that are higher monthly payment than my rent! Help? :-) @TorpeyMichael